What do you do with your plethora of USB cables?

Question

I have many USB charging cables of all the types - they break so easily... I have so many - but I feel bad just throwing them out - and even with the ones that still work, but I don't use that connector type any longer, I also don't want to throw them in the trash..What do you guys do with them?

gregjor · Accepted Answer

I attach labels to them so I know what they were originally for, and when I bought them. I have a custom-made filing cabinet to organize them by function, length, and color. I am building an app in Rust, React, and MongoDB to catalog the cables so I can quickly find the cable I need and locate it in the filing cabinet. I plan to offer this as a SAAS as soon as I can find a technical co-founder.I'm considering issuing NFTs for each cable, that may generate some revenue faster than the SAAS idea.

learningmore · Answer

I cut off the device-specific side and use them for hard-wired 5v power circuitry projects.
Sometimes, I cut off both connectors, and pull out the wires inside to use for wiring circuits.
I plan to combine a Micro-USB B connector and a full size USB-B cable to make a soldered-together usb OTG cable to connect my 3d printer to an android device.
Other options. Donate them to schools or hacker spaces. Bring them to recyclers. (Or, if you have lots of free time, strip off the PVC to expose the bare copper to make it easier for them to recycle.)

suyula · Answer

I've gone through all of mine after getting into Arduino so now I have the opposite problem-- where do you go to get bulk USB cables?

swah · Answer

I throw them out. Unless its the one you need for a printer - that one I always keep.

PaulHoule · Answer

Anything broken ought to go in the trash or you are going to wind up trying to use it.

mardiyah · Answer

simply garage sell by letting electronic professional/hobby know to have them buy at one fourth priceit depends, see/inspect whether it's 4 or 9 pins, for 2.0 or 3.0 respectively

sysadm1n · Answer

The current winner in my box of cables seems to be Micro-USB. Most manufacturers assume the user doesn't have one, so they come shipped with /everything/. In my other box, I have exotic and rare cables like USB-C (Which is slowly gaining traction) and other proprietary cables that only work with specific devices (like my vaping pen has this weird USB cable that only works with that device).

fuzzfactor · Answer

I would estimate that I retain them.

What do you do with your plethora of USB cables?

I have many USB charging cables of all the types - they break so easily... I have so many - but I feel bad just throwing them out - and even with the ones that still work, but I don't use that connector type any longer, I also don't want to throw them in the trash..
What do you guys do with them?

I've gone through all of mine after getting into Arduino so now I have the opposite problem-- where do you go to get bulk USB cables?

I throw them out. Unless its the one you need for a printer - that one I always keep.

Anything broken ought to go in the trash or you are going to wind up trying to use it.

simply garage sell by letting electronic professional/hobby know to have them buy at one fourth price
it depends, see/inspect whether it's 4 or 9 pins, for 2.0 or 3.0 respectively

I would estimate that I retain them.